Jake Shields (Credits: UFC)
Former UFC fighter suggests fighting inside cage to tackle depression amongst teenagers
Jake Shields isn’t one to hold back when it comes to sharing his thoughts and feelings. The former UFC welterweight contender’s previous remarks have been contentious. These include homophobic slurs and attacks on people online for being pseudo-liberals.
The CDC research shows that the percentage of American high school students reporting “chronic emotions of melancholy or hopelessness” increased from 26% to 44% between 2009 and 2021. The level of adolescent depression is at an all-time high.
The government study of nearly 8,000 high school students carried out in the first half of 2021 revealed substantial disparities in pupils’ emotional well-being across demographic categories. More over one-quarter of girls, or twice as many as boys, said they had seriously considered suicide during the pandemic. Over half of LGBTQ youth reported having suicidal thoughts during the epidemic, while just 14% of their straight counterparts did so. There appears to be a more rapid increase in depression among white adolescents than among any other demographic.
Jake Shields has a solution to tackle this issue: Let teenagers fight inside the cage. Shiels voiced his opinion on Twitter, writing:
“If teens were Forced to do a cage fight once a year most of their mental health issues would disappear Anxiety: after a cage fight in front or your peers your old worries will feel silly Depression: know time to be depressed when you’re training for a fight ADD: getting punched in the face will make you ultra focused.”
Tim Kennedy, a former UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce fighter is not pleased to learn that some of the top UFC fighters are now training with Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Chechen Republic. Kadyrov’s rule has been plagued by allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, and disappearances. It’s sufficient that they’ve been labelled “crimes against humanity” by Human Rights Watch.
Through his social media accounts, Kennedy expressed his displeasure with welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev’s decision to train with Chechen leader and Russian politician Ramzan Kadyrov.
Among professional fighters, Kennedy is one of the few who has also served in the United States Army. He is a decorated veteran who received numerous medals for his service, including the Army’s Bronze Star.
“Let me get this right… It’s totally fine that the UFC controls what a fighter wears on his shorts, whether or not they train with James Kraus, or what they do on their social media, but it’s totally fine for them to train with a terrorist.”
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